ITWeb contributor Nicola Mawson has been selected as a panellist for a discussion celebrating women shaping the future of technology, leadership and innovation.
This year’s session will highlight young women’s role in IT as leaders, creators and change-makers.
“We have a range of speakers who fulfil various roles in IT who will come together to provide a dynamic, interactive approach to opening the minds of IT students to the world of opportunities that exist beyond traditional career routes,” says Jacqui Muller, panel convenor and researcher at Belgium Campus iTversity.
Mawson will address students at Wednesday’s closed Femiverse Panel Discussion, hosted by Belgium Campus iTversity, on whether South Africa’s young women are keen to enter the rapidly-changing ICT field and the rationale behind their career choices. Her dialogue is entitled: Women in ICT – how we create a pipeline of talent and leadership.
Femiverse aims to showcase and elevate young women in IT – their journeys, challenges and contributions – while fostering dialogue, mentorship and collaboration between students, alumni and industry leaders. The event will also encourage female IT students to engage more with eSport initiatives.
“We are delighted to have someone of Nicola’s calibre join us on the panel as a respected journalist, expert commentator and mentor, with a focus on the ICT sector. With more than a decade of experience creating content on ICT topics, Nicola has a vast amount of insight into the sector, having watched it advance from before Facebook was listed, to the point where artificial intelligence seems to have taken over our lives,” says Muller.
Alongside Mawson, there are seven other panellists: Kholofelo Poppy Mocheke, data specialist at Edge Growth; Patricia Gallispie, senior project management team lead at NTT Data; Annalise Olivier, automation business executive at i1 Solutions; Zimkhita Buwa, CEO of Intellinexus; Suzette Van Wyk, Belgium Campus iTversity alumna and geek mentorship mentor, specialist platform engineer at Absa South Africa; Carike Botha, Microsoft MVP and development consultant at iSolve; and Tracy Van der Schyff, Microsoft MVP, Office 365 coach and catalyst.
“To be selected to address an audience on such an important topic is both a privilege and an honour, and I look forward to the panel’s outcomes as we help develop women in ICT. Given the importance of ICT as a sector to our future economic growth, it is vital that we encourage more young women to enter the industry now,” says Mawson.
Muller concludes: “I’ve worked with each of these women in various capacities and they each offer valuable insights into the Femiverse. I’m looking forward to an engaging conversation and real-world outcomes we can all apply to encourage women to strive for success in ICT.”
Share